VERITAS
WEEK 8
Infant Jesus School
4
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Parent Teacher Interviews
Ms Allen’s Students of the week
7
ASSISTANT
PRINCIPALS’ CORNER
Harmony Day
Project Compassion & Caritas
10
CLASS NEWS
Year 4
Student Ministry
13
SAFE SCHOOL FRAMEWORK
Conduct Statement 2
15 UR STRONG Nip it in the bud
19
From the Principal
Lord Jesus, During this holy season of Lent, We seek to renew our faith and commitment to You. Guide us in our journey of repentance and reflec@on. Help us to embrace Your teachings with open hearts, And to serve others with love and humility. May Your presence be our strength and our peace. Amen.
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Welcome to our week 8 newsleZer.
Thank you to all the Year 2, 4, 5, and 6 parents who aZended the Parent Teacher Interviews this week. Your par?cipa?on is greatly appreciated, and we hope the discussions provided valuable insights into your child's progress. We look forward to welcoming the Kindy, Pre-Primary, Year 1, and Year 3 parents for their interviews next week. Thank you for your con?nued support and engagement in your child's educa?on.
Congratula?ons to our Year 4-6 students who par?cipated in the swimming trials on Monday! We are eagerly an?cipa?ng the senior swimming carnival on Wednesday, 2 April. A special thank you to Miss Witkowski for organizing the carnival and to both Miss Witkowski and Mr. Colangelo for their dedica?on in aZending swim club with the students Friday mornings. Your efforts are greatly appreciated!
As part of the requirements to prac?ce the emergency drills in our Incident Management Plan, our first Lockdown drill is on Thursday 10 April at 11.30am. A lockdown is used when there is an ac?ve threat situa?on on school grounds. Students in the classroom will move to a set area to avoid detec?on. Staff will prepare the students in the lead up to the drill. If you are at school during this ?me, please listen to any instruc?ons that are given.
Students have been busy preparing for the Holy Week Liturgies which will take place in Week 10. You are invited to join us at 8.50am each morning (Monday to Thursday) and on Friday aHernoon at 2.00pm.
Enjoy the rest of the week.
Mel Allen Principal
Lachlan, Hendrix and Sebas?ano
Students were asked to create a sentence using the word ‘admiZed’ as well as including because, but or also in their sentence. Super effort!
Briella & Everly
Super artwork from Briella and Everly. They had to create a self portrait using pencil. They then created colourful paZerns for the background of their art. Great work!
Luca and Riyyan
AHer listening to the story ‘Walking in the Jungle’, Luca and Riyyan iden?fied some of the main ideas of the text and wrote the event in detail. Fantas?c wri?ng!
Year One Students
I loved seeing the progress that our Year One students have made in their wri?ng. They wrote sentences using set words, completed dicta?on sentences, added leZers to words to make a new word or added different endings to their words. I am super proud of all of your hard work. Well done!
Assistant Principal’s Corner
Harmony Day
Thank you to all families for suppor?ng Harmony Day last week. It was a fantas?c opportunity to recognise and celebrate that Everyone Belongs with all the orange outfits and crea?ve ways that students incorporated orange into their everyday uniforms.
Hair and Jewellery
To protect the health and hygiene of all children at our school, we ask that all hair that is collar length or longer is ?ed up. Hairstyles should not be radical and hair should not be dyed. Children with hair that dangles in front of their face will be asked to clip it back. Hair ribbons/scrunchies must be the school colours of navy or white and hair elas?cs may be black, navy or white.
Children need to take responsibility for their own jewellery. Children may wear one plain gold or silver stud or sleeper in their ears, and wear a simple gold or silver cross or chris?an medallion on a necklace. Simple wristwatches are encouraged.
Please note, the use of smartwatches is discouraged due to the distrac?on they cause in class. The use of smartwatches is governed by the school’s ICT guidelines and any incorrect use will see the smartwatch being sent to the office and a parent being ask to pick it up.
Project Compassion & Caritas Australia
Lam from Vietnam is a young man from rural Vietnam who dreamed of becoming a graphic ar?st but struggled due to his physical disability. Through Caritas Australia’s partner program, I-SHINE, Lam completed a six-month IT training course that equipped him with professional skills and restored his confidence and social connec?ons.
Today, Lam runs a successful freelance graphic design business from home, serving clients locally and interna?onally. Lams story shows how voca?onal training can empower people with disabili?es to overcome barriers and achieve their dreams, inspiring others to do the same.
You can support Project Compassion 2025 through the dona?on boxes, or online at: caritas.org.au/projectcompassion
Project Compassion Update 2025
Thank you to our fabulous Year 6, Year 5, Year 4, Kindergarten & Year 3 children, we have already raised nearly $2000 for Project Compassion.
As we con?nue to Unite Against Poverty. We are excited that we can support individuals to start their own income-genera?ng ac?vi?es, so young entrepreneurs can focus on growing their businesses in the DRC.
We can not wait to see our final amount raised.
Irene,
Year Four
Portrait Fun
In Year Four we have been working hard to create lifelike self-portraits. Throughout the term we have prac?sed drawing facial features with par?cular focus on small details in our eyes and hair. We have also learnt about the propor?ons of facial features in rela?on to one another, and the impact of shading in crea?ng depth.
The background of our art pieces have been decorated with a variety of brightly coloured paZerns to make our work pop! We are really proud of the work we have created and are excited to share it with the school community. A big thank you to Ms O’Neill for sharing her exper?se with us during this process.
Student Ministry News
ChrisWan Service
Ministry
At Infant Jesus School, our Year Six Chris?an Service Ministry plays a vital role in fostering a spirit of compassion and service among our students. This ministry encourages students to live out their faith by engaging in various service projects, fundraisers, and liturgical events, that benefit both the school community and the wider community.
Public RelaWons Ministry
We are very excited about being in the Infant Jesus School Public Rela?ons Ministry. We are eager to learn how to be more confident in public speaking. Some of the other work that we hope to do is sharing our thoughts on what makes Infant Jesus School so great and sharing this with the Public.
We are eager to share with the Infant Jesus community informa?on, including the Weekly Update so that future learners can find out about our learning journey.
We hope to make the future brighter through the work we do with the Public Rela?ons Ministry.
Sustainability Ministry
Our Year Six Sustainability Ministry is dedicated to inspiring environmental awareness and ac?on among our students. This semester, we're excited to focus on two major ini?a?ves: implemen?ng a school-wide recycling system and launching the Containers for Change program. These projects aim to reduce waste and promote recycling within our school and the wider community.
By par?cipa?ng in these ini?a?ves, our Year Six students will not only help protect the environment but also learn valuable lessons about sustainability. Together, we can make a significant difference and pave the way for a greener
Wellness Ministry
The Wellness Ministry held its first mee?ng, focusing on promo?ng health and well-being within the school community. We began by sor?ng out and restocking the class's sports equipment to ensure everything was in good condi?on for student use. Next, we discussed our roles and responsibili?es for the upcoming Swimming Carnival, ensuring a smooth and suppor?ve event. Addi?onally, we brainstormed possible spor?ng ac?vi?es that the Wellness Ministry could organise to encourage physical ac?vity and engagement. Our mission remains clear: fostering a healthy and ac?ve school environment.
Our Year Six Leadership Charter
A charter is an agreement that people have between one another. A[er exploring our school vision and core values, we deemed this to be our promise to Infant Jesus School as Year Six leaders. As Leaders, we will combine our leadership quali?es such as being responsible, respecpul, and encouraging to lead the school. We acknowledge that being in a ministry is a privilege, not a right. We have the ability to lead our school and inspire our peers to follow the path of Jesus using our school values, faith, hope, truth, and love.
We will encourage our peers to try their best and welcome new students to our Infant Jesus community. We will help all students to become the best version of themselves. As Year Six Leaders, we will demonstrate sustainable prac?ces for future genera?ons and treat the environment respecpully, crea?ng a safe, beau?ful place for all our Infant Jesus Community. We will be inclusive, trea?ng everyone equally and respecpully, using the nine drivers as our guiding influence.
As leaders, we will encourage the School and Parish community to #ExpectGreatThings of themselves and others. We will encourage our peers to love God and each other by living a healthy lifestyle that includes prayer, reflec?on, and wellness.
We believe that communica?on and student voice is valued and respected at Infant Jesus School. We recognise that wearing our school uniform with pride in the wider community is an honour and privilege as inspira?onal leaders.
By loving God with all our heart, body, and soul, we will use our giHs and talents to be innova?ve leaders who shape the future and lead our school into another seven decades of excellence and beyond.
Safe School Framework
Conduct Statement 2: You give priority to students’ safety and well-being in all your behaviour and decision making.
Guidelines
1. You accept that you and all adults have individual and joint responsibility for the safety and well- being of students
2. You ensure the safety and well-being of students are the primary focus of your ac?ons and decisions and take precedence over any other considera?ons including the reputa?on of the school and your own needs.
3. You support the safety, health and well-being of each student, promo?ng and suppor?ng decisions and behaviour that contribute to the student’s self-confidence, safety and well-being.
4. You do not behave in any way that risks crea?ng ambiguity about whether you are ac?ng in the best interests of a student.
5. You respecpully communicate in plain language and in a way the student and those suppor?ng their educa?on can understand so they may fully par?cipate in that educa?on
6. You support informed decision making by advising the student as appropriate and those suppor?ng their educa?on about educa?on op?ons, and assist the student and their supporters to make informed decisions about that educa?on.
7. You endeavour to ensure the voice of the student is heard as appropriate, taking into account age and circumstances.
8. You seek out, welcome, and learn from informa?on relevant to the safety and well-being of students in any form, including advice, disclosures, complaints, cri?cisms, feedback and performance reviews. You look for opportuni?es to engage in formal and informal group and self-reflec?on and professional development about your own and others’ decisions so that you and the school can learn and con?nuously improve.
9. You recognise that all informa?on about students collected by school staff is done so on behalf of the Principal and for the benefit of the student. Therefore, all informa?on is disclosed to and accessible by all who have a need to know it in order to support the educa?on, safety and well-being of the student.
10. You respecpully advocate for the safety and well-being of students above all other considera?ons.
11. You recognise the importance that students’ educa?on con?nues without interrup?on or disturbance.
12. You disclose to the Principal any informa?on that a reasonable person would recognise may be relevant to the safety and well-being of students so that the Principal may make appropriate decisions to manage any risk to them. This includes any rela?onship with any person who may have been accused of harming children or ac?ng unsafely towards them.
13. You recognise that students and their parents are en?tled to assume that the sole focus of your engagements with students is to educate them within a safe environment that puts their well-being above all else. You understand that this trust by parents and students puts the onus on you to use your rela?onship with students solely for their educa?on. You use all engagements with students and their parents, whether in person, through a third party, or via digital media for the purpose of teaching the curriculum.
14. You do not accept giHs or benefits that could be viewed as a means of influencing your objec?ve
Staff Example of Specific Behaviours, but not limited to:
• Rela?onships between staff, students and parents should be professional at all ?mes – no social media contact and/or exchange of personal details, socialising, etc permiZed. This includes ex-students. Staff to no?fy Principal of any devia?on from this.
• Use of developmentally appropriate materials in the classroom.
• Document all parent mee?ngs (formal and informal) – copy to Principal
• When given sensi?ve/personal informa?on from parents – staff to pass it onto the Leadership Team.
• Staff to ac?vely supervise students whilst on duty.
• Thorough Handover at the end of the year between Staff regarding the students.
Parents Example of Specific Behaviours, but not limited to:
• Reminders to parents to act appropriately with other children in the school (ie) respect the personal boundaries/space of every child.
• Parents to seek permission before adding photos of children within the school to social media feeds.
• Parents must sign children in and out through the office, if collec?ng children early or arriving at school late.
• WriZen notes to the office regarding administra?on of medica?on
• Confiden?ality when assis?ng in the classroom, school, etc.
Students Example of Specific Behaviours, but not limited to:
• Respect each other’s privacy and personal space.
• Students to adhere to Behaviour Expecta?ons - Behaviour Management Guidelines and Procedures
– school, classroom and playground
• Children learn how to use ICT appropriately and adhere to ICT expecta?ons
Volunteers Example of Specific Behaviours but not limited to:
• Confiden?ality – not engaging in discussions or disclosing informa?on about children/family situa?ons.
• Volunteers need to be visible by the class teacher at all ?mes
• Mini-induc?on for student volunteers
Visitors Example of Specific Behaviours but not limited to:
• All visitors, including tradespeople and delivery people to be accompanied by a staff member on school grounds during school ?mes and sign in and out of the office.
• Staff to no?fy Leadership Team when visitors are in the school – informa?on added to Daily Ac?vi?es
Safe School Framework
Creating a kinder world by empowering kids with friendship skills.
URSTRONG’s whole-school friendship strategy has improved the social climate in schools around the world, connecting over a million kids, parents, and teachers with a common language of friendship.
URSTRONG teaches kids what’s normal in a friendship and the diference between healthy and unhealthy friendships. In short, we teach kids how to become Friendship Ninjas.
Friendship Ninjas know how to put out common Friendship Fires® and how to combat Mean-on-Purpose behaviour by using their Quick Comebacks. Friendship Ninjas can get their friendships back into the Green Zone by taking steps to Talk-it-Out and they also understand that friendships can change and that’s okay too.
There’s a Friendship Ninja in all of us and URSTRONG helps kids discover theirs!
Discover everything URSTRONG has to ofer and sign up to your included Parent Membership at urstrong.com
psst! get that glossary on your fridge, then you can use our language of friendship too!
Nip it in the Bud!
Is your child being Mean-on-Purpose?
Let’s ‘nip it in the bud’ before they lose all their buds!
Before anything, we need to start with this: It is very rare for a child to be Mean-on-Purpose!
By way of defini@on, Mean-on-Purpose behavior is inten@onally cruel, rude, malicious, unkind, manipula@ve behavior that is designed to hurt someone and it is uncommon in children. Why? All kids want to get along and belong. Children are born joyous and see the world with wonder and awe. They love being around other kids, playing and experiencing that feeling of ‘friendship’. Not only is friendship a basic need, forming friendships and being part of a “tribe” is a survival ins@nct deep within all of us. As teachers and parents, we need to assume the best in children, give them the benefit of the doubt, and not project a very strong nega@vity bias or our own past traumas onto kids.
It is far more common for children to experience Friendship Fires® (common issues or conflicts like misunderstandings, disagreements, or hurt feelings) as a result of Mean-by-Accident behavior.
Consider this example: A child sees their friend is having sushi for lunch, plugs their nose and says, “Eww! Sushi? That’s gross!” Was that child being Mean-on-Purpose? Highly doub\ul. It is far more probable the child is simply being honest about how they feel. Yes, it’s rude. Yes, it’s inconsiderate and lacks empathy. But, their inten@on was not to purposefully make their friend feel bad – they just don’t like sushi and haven’t yet learned when and how to filter their comments. Part of a child’s social-emo@onal development is learning those “unwri^en rules” and developing a more sophis@cated inner-filter to ‘bite their lip’ and control impulsive reac@ons.
With all of this in mind, a child who is ac@ng out in Mean-on-Purpose ways needs helps. Children or teenagers who do exhibit Mean-on-Purpose behavior might be experiencing difficul@es at home, mirroring behaviors they’ve seen in others, or they might be struggling with mental illness like anxiety or depression. Whatever the reason, Mean-on-Purpose behavior is never okay and it is a big red flag that something is wrong. They need adult interven@on to provide them with the support they need.
In addi@on to ge`ng a child professional support (School Counsellor, Psychologist, or Therapist) to find out the root cause of the behavior, here are a few ways parents can support a child who is displaying Mean-on-Purpose behavior:
FOCUS ON EMOTIONAL REGULATION: Their ‘nega@ve emo@ons’ are big and overwhelming. Our Friendology curriculum
Nip it in the Bud!
ROLE-PLAY: Role-playing is essen@al for those children who typically act on impulse. Imagining themselves in different scenarios and role-playing their way around the Friend-o-Cycle clears those neural pathways in the brain so they know how to react appropriately the next @me they feel big, nega@ve emo@ons (frustrated, annoyed, angry, etc). Some@mes children are mirroring behaviours they’ve seen before, so we need to ‘reteach’ them that Mean-on-Purpose behaviour is not allowed and support them in finding a more helpful reac@on. To learn more about the Friend-o-Cycle, watch this: Be a Friendship Ninja!
Empowerment comes from knowing exactly what to say and exactly what to do, which is why scripts are a big part of our Friendology curriculum. As you’re role-playing with your child, help them craf a script for what they could say in those moments. What is their Exit Strategy if the game or ac@vity is too intense and they feel themselves escala@ng? Maybe they say to their friends, “I’ll be right back – I’ve got to go to the bathroom.” Help your child come up with a one-liner they can say that feels right for them and role-play!
For younger kids, role-playing with toys or teddy bears is a very fun and effec@ve way to help them prac@ce. For scenarios, check out: Friendship Fires Firepit
SET THEM UP FOR SUCCESS: In Friendology, we help children learn to make healthy choices in their friendships and develop boundaries. We do this by using the Friend-o-Meter – a visual tool that helps kids reflect on how they are feeling in their friendships. When children are in the Red-Zone on the Friend-o-Meter, it might trigger that Fight/Flight/Freeze/Fawn response. For children who exhibit Mean-on-Purpose behavior, their ins@nct is to Fight.
As parents, we can help our child iden@fy the ac@vi@es or situa@ons that ac@vate their Fight response. You might say, “I no@ce when you play handball, you seem to really get frustrated. Do you agree? Do you think handball brings out the best in you? What else could you do at recess that would be fun that would keep you in the Green-Zone on the Friend-o-Meter?” Take it even further with this ac@vity: The Friend-o-Meter: Time to Chat!
TEACH THEM ABOUT STRENGTHS: What are your child’s strengths? Character Strengths represent posi@ve quali@es within a child that help to bring out the best in them. When they are using their strengths, they feel good – energized, excited, and mo@vated. These a^ributes help children to learn and improve their mental health & wellbeing. Kids feel successful and happy when they are using their strengths.
According to VIA Ins@tute of Character, humans possess 24 Character Strengths in different degrees. We all have a different mixture or combina@on of strengths; some represen@ng our top strengths (ofen called Signature Strengths). With all strengths, however, if they are overused or misused they can actually be a weakness.
Community News
Kindy
Oliver (17/3)
Faith (17/3)
Parker (19/3)
Pre Primary
Oliver (18/3)
Carly (19/3)
Allegra (23/3)
Sienna (30/3)
Happy Birthday
Year One
Gia (19/3)
Lyla (27/3)
Giorgia (21/3)
Ethan (26/3)
Year Three
Eas?n (28/3)
Year Five
Amelia (20/3)
Nathaniel (31/3)
Year Six
Claudia (20/3)
Isabella (25/3)
Lucas (26/3)
Staff
Mrs Kosovich (18/3)
Miss Santovito (21/3)
We would love to celebrate all of the good things happening in our community in our school newsleZer. If something special has occurred in your family - this could be the birth of a child, a special anniversary or even a spor?ng or academic achievement (outside of school), we would love to hear from you via the form. We would also like to hear from you if there has been a bereavement in the family or a request for prayers, so that we can ask for prayers from our community.
h^ps://forms.office.com/r/8N9X7hrvPt
P & F NEWS
Easter Raffle
Our annual Easter Raffle is well and truly underway. Thank you to all the families who have donated to the raffle and purchased ?ckets. Tickets are $1 each and can be purchased online using QuickCliQ or with cash using the flyer sent home last week. Tickets will be on sale un?l Friday the 4th April with the raffle being drawn in Week 10.
We are s?ll seeking dona?ons and kindly ask families to please donate from the list below for our raffle prizes. Please bring these to your classroom by the end of week 9. Pre Kindy, Kindy and Pre Primary: Easter CraHs Year 1, 2, 3 and 4: Chocolates Year 5 and 6: Wrapping, baskets, ribbon, cellophane
Entertainment Book
We have a fundraising account set up with the Entertainment Book. Your purchase of an Entertainment Membership contributes to our school with 20% of the purchase going directly to Infant Jesus. Enjoy access to exclusive deals and offers on dining, travel, shopping, and ac?vi?es — saving you more, every day, all year long. Purchase a Single City Membership during the month of March and you will receive a Mul? City Upgrade, plus go in the draw to win one of 3 major prizes. Click the link for more informa?on or to purchase one (or more) of these books. hZps://subscribe.entertainment.com.au/fundraiser/8423y3? utm_source=Infant+Jesus+School&utm_campaign=8423y3&utm_medium=Print&utm_id=144178&utm_content=Print
Events and Fundraising
We are planning a Parent Event this year too! If you would like to be on the commiZee to help organise the event please send us an email. If you have any fundraising ideas or can help in any way (dona?ons or volunteering ?me) for future events, we would love to hear from you. Send an email to president.pafc@gmail.com
Upcoming Events
Easter Raffle: Term 1, Week 10
Mother’s Day Stall: Term 2, Week 2
Infant Jesus Cafe Menu
Sandwiches/Rolls
Ham & Salad Sandwich
$7.5
Chicken & Salad Sandwich $7.50
Egg Sandwich $6.50
Curried Egg Sandwich $6.50
Chicken, Cheese, Avocado & Mayo Sandwich
$7.50
Vegemite Sandwich $3.00
Toasted Ham & Cheese Sandwich $3.50
Toasted Ham, Cheese & Tomato Sandwich
Toasted Cheese Sandwich
Toasted Cheese & Vegemite Sandwich
$4.00
$2.50
$3.50
Continental Roll $9.50
*Tuesday
Wraps/Salads
Full Chicken and Salad Wrap $7.50
Full Chicken Caesar Wrap
Greek Salad
Salad Tray
Salad Tray with Egg
Salad Tray with Chicken or Ham $8.50
Salad Tray with Cheese $8.50
Chicken Caesar Salad $8.50
Fruit Salad $5.00
**Daily Specials**
Meatball Sub with Sauce & Cheese
$6.50
Chicken Caesar Roll $8.50
Pasta of the Day
Continental Roll $9.50
*Wednesday
Beef Sliders x 2 $8.00
Corn Jacks
Crispy Chicken Caesar Wrap
Vegetarian Seeded Roll
*Thursday
Chicken Schnitzel Roll $8.50
Chicken Parmigiana Roll
Spaghetti Bolognese $7.50
Cheese Kransky $4.00
